


Lathbora Viran

by I_Write_Tragedies_Not_Sins



Series: The Way of Thedas [6]
Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-09
Updated: 2018-02-17
Packaged: 2019-03-15 18:45:28
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,956
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13619421
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/I_Write_Tragedies_Not_Sins/pseuds/I_Write_Tragedies_Not_Sins
Summary: “I never expected the world to feel so lonely without the clan…”Bellanaris doesn’t regret her decision to leave Clan Lavellan; staying by her closest friend’s side is more important to her than anything else that might have kept her there. But the world is a different place when it’s just two lone elves and a halla. Eventually, they meet the mysterious Felassan, who acts like no other Dalish the two have ever met.A series of connected one-shots following the adventures of Bellanaris and Banal’vhenas as they travel in and around Orlais. From 9:22 Dragon to 9:27 Dragon, a few years before the Blight takes place."Lathbora viran: Roughly translated as "the path to a place of lost love," a longing for a thing one can never really know."





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Takes place directly after "The Path That Leads Astray" and continues on up until a few years before "What Has Been Wrought". Further adventures of Nari and Banal'vhenas.
> 
> Generally, lethallin is used for males and lethallan is used for females. Lethallen has been stated to be a gender neutral term (source: Tamlen from DA:O for the first two, and Patrick Weekes on twitter for the gender neutral term) Nari is gender neutral, like me, but for ease of writing I’m using the “she” pronoun for her, since they aren’t particularly bothered by it, same as me.

Nari’s muscles strain under the weight of the iron pole, magically made three times heavier by Banal’vhenas’ will. Sweat dripping into her eyes, she grits her teeth as she strains her body, lifting the bar above her head until her arms are fully extended. She holds it for a ten count before slowing shifting it back down to chest level, and then waist level, before setting it on the ground.

A welcome cool breeze blows across her midriff. Her favourite workout tunic is drenched in sweat, the green cloth ripped in half so that it covers her breasts but bares her stomach. Her leggings are also soaked, and she’s certain she reeks something terrible.

But she doesn’t mind. Today, she beat her goal by five reps. Instead of the normal twenty, she managed to get to twenty-five before her muscles screamed at her to stop.

“Are you through?” Banal’vhenas asks, raises a brow as he watches her from the shade of a tree.

Nari nods, grinning wide as she wipes the sweat from her face. “Aye, I’m through, lethallin. Did you grow bored? Next time, you’re welcome to try your hand at it,” she teases, knowing a hole forming in the sky is more likely than the mage ever training his muscles in such a manner.

Banal’vhenas grimaces, tossing a flask of water her way. “Please don’t try to be funny, Nari,” he replies, much to her own amusement. “Also, please go take a bath. By the Creators but you stink.”

She tosses her sweat covered rag at his face, which he easily bats away with his staff, a scowl on his face as she marches toward the river. She grabs a bundle of clean clothes on the way; another green tunic, but this time it isn’t ripped for working out, deep brown leggings, and soft leather armour to go over it all.

Nari strips the sweaty clothes off, attentively listening for the sounds of passing shemlen. Her small, hard breasts come free from the bindings used to keep them out of the way for training and fighting, and she breathes a sigh of relief. She shivers, the water colder than she expected, as she dips her feet into the river. Soon she’s soaking neck deep, nestled between two large boulders, as the water washes away the stink and dirt.

Everything seems calm, peaceful, as she soaks. Tendrils of her short hair brush against the nape of her neck, falling out of the messy half knot she has it in. The aches in her muscles seem to melt away, and she takes a deep breath of the sweet summer air, a soft smile curving the edges of her full mouth upward. Her eyes flutter close, thoughts drifting as she begins to doze.

Memories flood her mind in her half asleep state. She can see Keeper Deshanna clear as day, face contorted with sadness and regret, as Nari leaves. Her Clan members watch on, some faces sad and others full of satisfaction, as if they always knew she’d leave eventually and were glad for it. She misses them. Well, most of them.

For her whole life, the Clan meant safety and home and love. But even among them, she always felt lonely. Different. An outcast even among outcasts.

She’s not sure how long she sits there, hugged by the two large boulders, half asleep and half awake. A sudden growl echoes from the shore, startling her to her senses. The hairs on the back of her neck rise up as she realizes a bear is slowly stalking toward her. She’s alone, naked, and without her weapon. Banal’vhenas’ words of warning ring through her head. _You really should be more careful about where you leave your sword, lethallen._ Blast, but he was right and now the proof is shuffling toward her, all fur and claws and teeth and hunger.

She scrambles to her feet, water dripping off her naked body as her eyes dart around wildly. Will Banal’vhenas get to her in time if she calls for help? She doubts even she could wrestle a bear with just her hands. She reaches down and grabs a handful of sharp rocks from under the water, their jagged surfaces biting into her palm as she sends a prayer to the Creators, hoping they might hear her from their prisons and, somehow, send help. She takes aim and throws one of the rocks at the bear’s head but it only seems to make it angrier as it roars, its breath foul even from a distance.    

A sudden swirl of energy surrounds the beast, the earth shaking beneath the water. Large pointed formations of rock jutt up from the ground, startling the bear into running away. Nari’s eyes widen, heart pounding in her chest. Magic? But from where? It doesn’t feel like Banal’vhenas’ magic, which was calm and soothing. This feels primal and raw.

“Greetings,” a voice says from behind her.

She turns so fast that she slips, falling flat on her butt. Pain shoots up her backside as she curses, heart racing with fear. She looks up and is surprised to see an elf standing on the other side of the riverbank. His violet eyes shine with mischief, and his vallaslin marks him as dalish. She clumsily gets to her feet, refusing to show shame at her nudity.

“Uh, aneth ara,” she replies, rubbing the back of her neck. “You seem to have saved my life. Ma serannas. To thank you properly, come share a meal with my friend and I.”

The stranger raises an eyebrow. “Your friend? Not your clan?”

Nari shakes her head as she turns away, heading toward where her clothes lay on the side of the river. “We left our clan a few months back. I hope this doesn’t trouble you?”

He chuckles, softly, before replying. “Not at all,” he says, voice low and warm. “My name is Felassan, stranger.”

She grabs her tunic. Slow arrow? Such a strange name for a mage. “I am Bellanaris. My friend is Banal’vhenas, and a mage like yourself. Come, we’ll join him once I put on these clothes.”

“If you insist,” he replies, and she’s not sure if he’s referring to the meal or to her putting on clothes.

She raises an eyebrow as she pulls a tunic over her head. :"Your clan will not miss you?"

He seems to pause before answering. "Hardly," he says, voice cautious. "They are aware of my travels."

His strange, almost cryptic response piques her curiosity but she doesn't inquire further. Yet. A warm meal always tends to loosen lips. And she most looks forward to learning more about this "slow arrow".


	2. Chapter 2

"Vhen, we have a guest for the fire," Nari calls out, stomping through the grass and muck of the Exalted Plains. The grass tickles against her ankles, tiny gnats and flies buzzing around. She can feel her lips turning down in a grimace as she swats at the obnoxious things. "And where's the elfroot rub?" she asks, rubbing the back of her neck with a sigh.

Banal'vhenas tosses the pouch of the herb mixture to her, and she quickly smears on a light coating. It's slick against her skin, but, after a few seconds of standing in the heat, everything but her hair is dry. She jerks her head to the left. "This is Felassan," she says.

"Aneth Era, stranger. Is your clan nearby?" Banal'vhenas asks, bending low to stir a stew pot. 

Felassan shrugs, and his large staff shrinks down to the size of a small stick, which he puts in his belt pouch. "Near enough, should I have need of them," he replies. 

Nari takes a ladle full of the stew, trying to grab as much of the meat as possible and leaving behind the vegetables. "Be nice, Vhen. He saved me from a bear." She bends low to his ear, whispering the next part. "He saw me naked."

Banal'vhenas snorts, and she can tell he's trying to hold back barely contained laughter. She shoves at his shoulder. "It's not funny," she mumbles, looking over at Felassan.

His purple eyes shine in the sunlight. Dark purple, almost the same shade as his eyes, threads across his skin in the shape of Mythal's vallaslin. She notices how the shadows from his hood help to sculpt his face, high sharp cheekbones and deep set eyes. He turns to her, raising an eyebrow. She realizes she must have been staring. She holds back a sigh and hands out her bowl of stew. "Here," she says, pretending that was her purpose while mournfully watching the meat drift further away. She looks back in the pot and the sight of all those vegetables makes her cringe. 

Banal'vhenas lets out another snort. "Serves you right," he mutters, shaking his head with a smile. "Here, eat," he hands her his bowl, which has at least some meat in it, and she grins her gratitude at him.

Felassan kneels down, crouching on the balls of his feet, and begins to eat. "Strange to see two Dalish out here by themselves," he says between bites. 

Banal'vhenas shrugs, crossing his arms over his chest. "We had too many mages born close together. No other clan had need of me. So I was  _asked_ to leave," he replies, traces of bitterness seeping through his cautious reply. 

Felassan nods. "I have heard of clans doing this. And you, Bellanaris? You are no mage, why were you asked to leave?"

Nari raises an eyebrow at him. "I wasn't," she replies. "I couldn't let my friend wander alone." She glances over at the halla. "She belongs with him, though. She found him before I did."

Felassan chews in silence for a moment, and Nari wonders what thoughts are roaming through his head. She hadn't expected to find a lone dalish, let alone such a powerful mage. It seems odd, that a mage who can turn a staff into a stick, was not the First of his clan, and closer to this Keeper. 

Felassan gets to his feet, handing the now empty bowl in Nari's direction."Well, ma serannas, the meal was delicious. I should be on my way. Dareth shiral," he says.

"Wait!" Nari calls out, though she isn't sure why. Maybe it was loneliness, after having grown up amongst the clan?

Felassan raises an eyebrow as he pauses. "Yes?"

Creators, what is she supposed to say now? She struggles with her words a moment, tongue tied in her mouth. "I, uh...."

Banal'vhenas snorts. "What she means is, perhaps you would keep us company before continuing on your travels? Or, if your travels take you far from here, perhaps we might join you? I think my friend isn't used to so much solitude."

"Where are the two of you headed, then?"

"We were thinking of heading toward the Free Marches. Not many Dalish gather there, so we probably won't be noticed by the shemlen," Nari replies, grimacing as she bites into a carrot. "By the Dread Wolf, why did you put so many vegetables in this, Vhen?"

"Stop saying His name," Banal'vhenas hisses, eyes narrowed into slits. "You'll curse us all."

Felassan's eyes are wide as he stares at Nari. "In all my years, I have never heard a Dalish call out Fen'Harel's name before."

A flush of heat runs through her cheeks and down her neck. "Sorry," she mumbles, ducking her head. Great. Now he definitely won't stay.

Felassan stares a moment before smiling. "I think I will stay awhile. I'm heading toward Orlais. Would you consider travelling with me for a time, before heading toward the Free Marches?"

She blinks up at him. "Really? I mean, yes! We would love the company." 


End file.
